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I had a laporotomy, will this decrease my chances of getting pregnant?

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Susan14011
Susan14011

So almost two years ago I was in a car accident and had internal bleeding and parts of my small and large intestine got hurt.

I underwent an emergency operation and got a laparotomy, not laporoscopy, there was no time. I was cut open from just below my breasts to just above my my public area. The doctors stitched everything up and removed the damaged bits of intestine. Two days later I was opened up again on the original cut to make sure there was no dead tissue.

At my check up my doctor told I might have issues conceiving, and should I plan to get pregnant I must consult a gynecologist to ensure that nothing grew together in the wrong way.

Since the operation I have noticed that my periods have been more painful.

What are my chances of falling pregnant? Has anyone had a similar experience? Realistically speaking, what chance is there that things did grow wrong? Could this cause endometriosis?

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2 Replies

  • ryann33508
    ryann33508 Susan14011

    Posted

    Hey! I’m so sorry to hear about your accident and complications with your period. It sounds like you’re doing well though! 

    I have severe Crohn’s and have had two bowel resections (3 laparotomies due to complications from the second) plus a laparoscopy (6cm ovarian cyst on one ovary that resulted in a diagnosis of endometriosis).

    Honestly, there is no answer until you try to conceive. I’ve seen a high risk obgyn because my husband and I are talking about starting to try soon and I was told there’s no way to know what’s going on and due to the risk of complications, just to see isn’t a good enough reason. More painful periods isn’t a good sign, but plenty of women have had painful periods and conceived and born children without problem. There is virtually a 100% chance you have abdominal scar tissue, but everyone develops scar tissue at different rates and in different ways so there’s no way to know how it may affect you. My GI told me about a friend who developed an obstruction from scar tissue and had no history of anything that should cause scar tissue, then when they did my laparoscopic surgery my doctor could not believe how little I had considering my history and rather severe endo.

    It sucks not knowing what will happen (I’m so frustrated with it, too), but there’s really no way to know. There are scar tissue massages you can get to help break up scar tissue though, which may at least help with your periods. I get pain on my left side sometimes even though my Crohn’s and endo is on my right and I’ve gotten the massage and it helped a lot. My quad is also pulled tight on my right side from all of the scar tissue and is prone to sprain and the massage helps that. You want to be careful not to aggravate anything, but a well trained massage therapist trained in this kind of massage will know what needs to be done. 

  • aitarg35939
    aitarg35939 Susan14011

    Posted

    Ryan is correct, Susan: there is no way to predict. Which is no different from the situation for all women before fertility treatments began just a few decades ago: enjoy trying to get pregnant and hope for the best.
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